Meeting 'Cheer'lebrity - Maddie Gardner!

Cheering Celebrity Maddie Gardner

My daughter and I had the opportunity to meet cheer celebrity, Maddie Gardner and wow, what a visit it was!

So who is Maddie Gardner and what makes her such a cheer-lebrity? I went to Wikipedia to find our more about who my daughter was SO excited to meet.

"Maddie Gardner is an internationally recognized American all star cheerleader. She was the point flyer for the Large Senior All-Girl level five competitive cheerleading team Senior Elite of the Cheer Extreme Allstars from 2006-2012, winning the gold medal at the Cheerleading Worlds in 2010 and 2012. Her most notable contribution to cheerleading is the first-ever performance of a "ball up 360 tick-tock" in 2010. The successful performance of this stunt at the 2010 Cheerleading Worlds made her one of the most well-known cheerleaders in the industry." 

Wow - that's a lot to accomplish in less than 20 years - after all she didn't start cheering until she was 4 years old! My husband commented "Wow - she's the Tony Hawk of Cheerleading!"

But she is so much more than just an athlete - "Maddie has been an instructor at the Ultimate Cheer Camp in Olso, Norway, where more than two hundred kids from across Scandinavia attended the weekend long event. When she’s not cheering, doing school work or operating her own cake baking and decorating business, you’ll find Maddie volunteering at the local hospital and participating in fund raisers for various charities and organizations."

She was an active member of her school’s student government and Interact Service Club, serving as president of both. Maddie is a self-proclaimed perfectionist, “I strive for excellence in my school work and never settle for anything less than perfect in all that I do.”"*

It was our local cheer gym, All That Cheer in Amesbury, MA, that arranged for a meet and greet day with with this amazing young woman. Maddie took time with each and every athlete and signed autographs, magazine covers, cheer bows, shirts, and even shoes! 

Yes - She even autographed shoes!

After meeting with each cheerleader Maddie sat with all of them in a group and took questions from each of them. It was so wonderful to see the younger girls asking questions about stunts, and challenges, but my favorite were the questions about school.

Maddie's message - Work hard, don't let your school work suffer because of cheering - (Maddie received her high school's award for highest female GPA) she also told them to, never give up, keep trying - important words for each girl to hear and how nice that it came from someone they look up to and admire.

Now, growing up a tom-boy and never being exposed to cheering (except for at an occasional football game) I had no idea that this would be part of my future - I am so glad that it is!

This was our daughter's first year of cheering and it has been a wonderful journey watching her become a part of an extended family comprised of parents, coaches and athletes of all ages.
Thank you All That Cheer  for making the meet and greet possible and thank you Maddie Gardner for being such a positive influence and inspiring these young athletes.

* Reference About Maddie Gardner